


A Dark Life

by they_call_me_Mack



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-09-21 20:09:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9564383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/they_call_me_Mack/pseuds/they_call_me_Mack
Summary: i am writing this story to raise awareness to human trafficking. I believe that it is a huge problem in human society. and I also want the readers to think about this story when things don't go their way, and I want them to realize that some people are wishing that they could have a life as good as them.This story will also show how hard it is to recover from a experiecnes such as rape and abuse.I strongly advise that you look at the warnings and be aware of triggers throughout the story. I am not writing this to upset anybody.





	1. chapter 1

On one cold, winter night, a boy by the name of Nico di Angelo was born. A small, per-mature child he was. For the first fourteen years of his life, he lived with his kind, loving mother, Maria, in a small village in Italy.

Maria was a hard working woman that would do anything for her precious baby boy. Nico’s father was the opposite. He used human trafficking as a way for money, and planed to get his hands on Nico to drag him into the business.

When Nico turned fourteen, Hades set his plan to work. He first started by ordering one of his workers to kill Maria so he could gain custody of his son. The first stage of Hades’ plan succeeded. The second failed.

When Nico refused to join his father’s work, Hades’ went to plan b. He sold his son to a man by the name of Kronos, also Hades’ distant relative.

Nico worked as a sex slave in Italy till he was sixteen. That's when Kronos decided to send him off to america to continue his life of being a sex slave. 

Gaea, however, made a deal with Nico, just like she did with all of her slaves. If Nico could collect fifty thousand dollars in tips, then he was free to go.

Nico agreed to the deal, thinking it was his best chance at being free. 

XXX four years later XXX

Nico was woke by shuffling feet, as usual. He looked up to the clock on the opposite side of the room. 9:43 am. The schedule for the week would be posted soon. It was Monday, his (sorta) day off. This was the day everybody cleaned, did laundry, and got their two hours out in the world.

He climbed out of bed and examined the room he knew so well. The dorm room was at the lowest floor of the underground facility, so the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of concrete. The doors were all made of a hard metal block noise and keep them from getting out. 

The room was a long rectangle with twelve beds stretching across one side of the room. Each bed was paired with a small chest at the foot for their few belongings and clothes. The sheets to the beds were thin and stained, and the mattresses hard with stiff pillows.

On the opposite side of the room were their dressing station where they did make-up and got dressed. At the far end of the room stood another metal door that was permanently stuck in place. The door lead to a small bathroom covered in mold. There were two toilet stalls and three shower nazels hanging off the walls on random spots. There was a small sink with a broken mirror. 

This was the place that Nico had been calling hell for the part four years. This was the place that made him feel like his body belonged to somebody else, which it kind-of did. And amongst the wall was his bed where he dreamed every night that he would get out. That somebody would save him. That he could get enough money to save himself. 

In four years Nico had only gathered seven of the fifty thousand he needed. And over the years, Nico had realized that he would probably never get out before his body rotted. That’s why his only hope was the right person finding them and calling the police.

XXX

Monday passed quickly, as always. Soon Tuesday was there and Nico was getting ready for a night of working.

Rachel was applying his eyeliner and covering his bruises with assortments of powders that matched his skin tone. Rachel was one of Nico’s closest friends in this place. The girl had wild, red hair that was now straightened flat. Her makeup was done gently, making her face look angelic.

Rachel gave him a slight smile when she finished. “All done.” she said.

Nico stood up and kissed her cheek. “Thanks Rach.” he told her. He gave her a tight smile before checking the schedule one more time.

Nico had it easy that night. He would be greeting people, which only required minimal effort. He was partnered up with Annabeth and Katie, two more of his friends. That would make the night a bit easier to endure, at least.

XXX Will POV XXX

Will sat in his office doing the usual paperwork when a knock sounded on his door. “Come in,” he called to the person.

The door opened to reveal Agent Jackson. “Hey Will,” percy said. “We just got word that of some human trafficking.”

Will’s heart sank. He always hated hearing about human trafficking, but that's what he got for working in the Special Victims Unit. he solved the rape and kidnapping cases. 

Percy sat down in one of the guest chairs by his desk. He set a file down on Will’s desk to look at. It didn’t have much in it, due to the fact that this was only the beginning of the investigation.

“You know that old warehouse right outside the city?” Percy asked.

Will nodded.

“Well the man that reported it said that there was an entire underground facility. He tried to map it out in there.”

Will turned to the page of a hand drawn map. The part of the building above ground was empty, but the first underground floor held a club. The second was apparently the private rooms. The rest of the building was unknown.

“The property belongs to Gaea Titanis.”

Will looked up at Percy. “Are we going undercover?” Will asked.

“Yeah,” Percy confirmed. “This Wednesday. The man said he thought the club opened around nine.”

“Okay.” Will agreed.

Percy looked at Will with a sad face. “Before you agree I have to tell you that this undercover will be different. You would have to agree to lap dances, and sneaking off to explore the facility.”

“I’m going, Percy,” Will said.

“Good,” Percy said.

“How many agents do we have going?” Will asked.

“Jason, Reyna, you, me, and Frank.”

Will nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

XXX Nico POV XXX

Tuesday night went worse for Nico than he planned. Somebody had requested him in a private room. Nico never liked the private rooms. It was where men would pin him down and have their way with him, and it was never gentle. Most of the time there would be blood from when they didn’t use enough lube. Then the next day would be more hell. 

This was Nico’s life. This is what he went through over, and over, and over again. This was what he dreamed about when he wasn’t dreaming about getting free. This was what hell felt like.

He slept until about noon, and only woke up to Annabeth shaking him.

“Neeks,” she said once he was awake and sitting up. “You need to eat.” 

Nico didn’t say a word, but just got up and followed her. The kitchen was buzzing with life when they arrived. A group of people sat in the corner, talking and eating the cheap, flavorless frozen dinners that Gaea provided.

Annabeth poured two bowls of cereal and handed one to Nico. Nico never liked dry cereal, but it was either that of the dinners.

They made their way over to Rachel and Piper, leaning up against the counter by the sinks.

“Hey,” Rachel and Piper greeted. 

Nico murmured a greeting under his breath. It was going to be another long day.

XXX hours later XXX

Nico hated dancing with a passion. Lap dancing wasn’t bad, but pole dancing was awful. He was pretty good at keeping time with the music, but it was the fact that of he did something wrong, he could pull a muscle, hit his head, or just flat out fall. And to make it worse, the shifts were an hour. His first hour was done, and he had another two before he had to go up again.

That’s when a new group of men came in. Four boys and a girl. Two of the boys and the girl were black headed, the others blond. It was one of the blonde that caught Nico’s attention. His blue eyes sparkled with concentration. He was wearing a white button down tucked into blue jeans and a leather jacket. 

Reluctantly, Nico tore his eyes away and went back to the lap dance he was diving. The man he was on was griping Nico’s hips way to tight, to the point where he would have bruises.

When the song was finally over, Nico climbed off and made his way over to the bar, where Piper was working. Piper handed him a shot of whiskey when Gaea wasn’t looking.

“Thanks,” Nico said under his breath.

“Don’t mention it,” Piper said.

Just then Gaea came up. She turned to Nico. “I need you to serve till your next dance. Annabeth went to a private room.”

“Yes mam,” Nico said as Gaea walked off. 

Piper handed Nico the drink menus. “Good luck,” she told him.

Nico huffed and stalked off to the table.

XXX Will POV XXX

Will sat down at a table with Percy, Jason, Reyna, and Frank. He went over the plan again as they waited for the waiter. First, Reyna would sneak off and disable the security cameras. When she returned from her ‘bathroom break,’ Will would leave with Jason to map out the rest of the building. They would take pictures, with the camera hidden on the nose of Jason’s glasses, as evidence for the warrant for Gaea’s arrest. Percy would talk to the girl at the bar and Frank would walk around with the hidden camera in his chain necklace. 

A man with shaggy thick hair came up to take their drink orders. He had chocolate colored eyes outlined with black eyeliner. He wore no shirt and leather pants so tight Will wondered how he could move. He had an olive skin tone to make Will think he was from a different country. Maybe Italy.

The boy brought the drinks back a few minutes later. Will saw Jason pressing the hidden button on his glasses to take a picture of the boy.

“Anything else?” the boy asked.

“No, I think we’re good.” Reyna.

The boy hummed and trotted away.

Time for the plan, Will thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know. i suck at updating.

Will looked at his neatly arranged board of details for the case. The undercover trip had gone well. They got the identities of most of the victim's, fingerprints linking Gaea to the building, and photographic evidence of the events of the club. They had security footage that Reyna acquired and everything else needed for Gaea’s arrest. 

Will’s eyes wounded back to the picture of a dark haired victim. It was the boy that had taken their drink orders. Around the main picture were others of the boy when he was much younger. On of him in very short shorts stood out. He looked more innocent in that one. He looked to be around fourteen in the picture. They had gotten the picture off of some Italian website that came up. Nico di Angelo. That was his name. And Will didn’t know why he couldn’t get the boy out of his head.

XXX Two Hours Later XXX

They had gotten the warrant. A swat team was doing in to get the victims out and cuff Gaea and her guards. Will was stationed right outside the building so he could help get the victims into the SUV’s. Officers were surrounding the building to ensure that nobody escaped. They were going to do this. They were going to put the bad guys away and get the victims out. They would succeed.

XXX one day later XXX

Everything had gone smoothly. Gaea’s trial was set with a date, and now they just had to question the victims. Will had been assigned three of the victims to question. Kayla Knowles, Rachel Dare, and Nico di Angelo.

Kayla Knowles

Kayla sat in the chair opposite of Will. She had a nervous look on her face and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Will gave her a warm smile which seemed to calm her down a bit.

“Hi Kayla,” Will said. “I’m Will. I’m just going to ask you a few questions that will help in the trial.”

“Okay.” Kayla replied.

“So I need to know when you first began associating with Gaea.”

Kayla looked down to her lap, “Umm… about two years ago I was on the streets and Gaea approached me. I had just been thrown out of the apartment by my abusive boyfriend. Gaea told me that she would take care of me and that I would be safe.”

Kayla continued on with her story and Will took careful notes. Soon the interview was over.

Rachel Dare

“Hi,” the girl that sat down was peppy despite what she had been through. She held out her hand for Will to shake.

Will took it and introduced himself, “I’m Will.”

“Ask away,” Rachel said.

“I need to know if you knew of any of Gaea’s alliances.”

“Well,” Rachel began, “there was this one dude that always came once every few months. He would bring supplies and sometimes a bodyguard for Gaea or something.”

“Can you describe him?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Rachel said. “I can draw him if you need.”

“That would be great. Thank you Rachel.”

Nico di Angelo

Nico sat in the chair with his legs folded under himself and his hands clenched in his lap as he explained his background. Will thought that it was the worst he would ever hear. And the worst part was that they couldn’t put the people that did this to Nico away because they were in a different country.

As Nico told his story Will had to fight beck tears,and he could tell that Nico was to. Nobody deserved to go through that.

What scared Will most though was his attraction to Nico. Nico didn’t need Will in his life for that reason. 

Will cleared his throat when Nico concluded his story.

“So we will be putting you and the other victims under police protection for the next few months,” Will explained, “just to keep yall safe in case anybody comes looking for you.”

“Okay,” Nico said in a monotone voice.

“Also the lot of yall will be going in to the doctors tomorrow. You can also get ids and get yall some records so you can get jobs.”

“Okay.” Nico walked out of the office without another word. Will saw a blonde girl embrace him as the door closed.

Percy appeared from around the corner and slipped into Will’s office.

 

“Hey Perce,” Will greeted.

“Ya know the blonde?” percy asked.

“The one that hugged Nico?” Will asked.

“Yeah,” Percy answered. “Well we were best friends when we were kids. She disappeared about a year after we started dating.”

“Oh,” Will said.

Percy nodded and continued, “Yeah. I waited for her. Will I finally have her back, I can’t let her go. But I don’t want to make a move you cuz I don't wanna scare her off.”

“You’ll know when,” Will encouraged. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“Thanks, man,” Percy said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me a while to update. school smashed me and I just kinda threw this together.

Two months later Nico had a minimum wage job at a local restaurant and a small apartment downtown. Him and Will had become good friends. Annabeth and Percy were falling back into their old ways of flirting and Jason and Piper had some serious sexual tension.

Nico had also become very close to Reyna. A Lot of the time Reyna would be the first person Nico would go to if he needed advice or help. But no matter how good Nico’s life was during the day, his horrors always came back at night. 

He would dream of being back at that awful place and would often wake up in a sweat. He knew that Gaea was locked away along with all her workers, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn't truly free.

What Nico was most scared about was his father. Would Hades come after him now that he had escaped. Nico had told the F.B.I. about Hades but they could do nothing because he wasn’t on American ground. That frightened Nico. 

He had told Will and Reyna of his fear and they did what they could to help. Will always keep his ringer on at night so that if Nico called he could hear and rush over. When Will would come over he would distract Nico from the world. The two would watch movies or play board games until Nico fell asleep again.

Reyna helped in a different way. She was there to reassure Nico that he was safe. She had even gotten a security system set up in his apartment.

Nico was also taking college classes online so he could get a degree and a better job. He was majoring in humanities to keep it easy. Will would help Nico with his studies quite often, as would Annabeth. 

Nico had never seen this to be his future, but he would take it over his past any day.

XXX

Will and Nico sat on Nico’s couch watching The Princess Bride. It was honestly the most ridiculous movie Nico had ever seen, but Will loved it so Nico put up with it.

Nico hated the short dude with the lisp. He almost screamed in joy when he died. Will on the other hand had yelled, “Inconceivable!” at the top of his lungs, lisp and all. 

By the end of the movie Nico found himself dozing off. He tried his hardest not to fall asleep on Will’s shoulder, but failed.

Nico woke up the next morning, thankfully not from a nightmare. He found Will on his couch, snoring loudly.

His blond hair was a mess and his shirt rode up a few inches on his stomach. Nico averted his eyes and trotted to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

By the time the coffee was finished Will had woken up and walked into the kitchen asking, “Do I smell coffee?”

“No it’s pretzels,” Nico said sarcastically.

Will grumbled something under his breath and and began dumping sugar into his coffee.

“When’s your shift at the cafe?” Will asked.

“It starts at three this afternoon to seven.” Nico said.

“Cool so I’ll come by at eight?”

“Sure.”

XXX

Will had settled on friendship for the time being with Nico. One day Will wanted to try a relationship with Nico, but anybody could clearly see that Nico wasn’t ready. What he needed was a friend not a lover. 

Finally Will had voiced his feelings toward Nico to Reyna. She agreed that Nico was not yet ready for that kind of relationship. Right now Will just needed to be there for Nico. to help him with his fears and trauma and to help him create a life worth living. Will was okay with that, as long as he didn’t lose Nico.


	5. Chapter 5

Seven months after coming out of Gaea’s business, Nico had fallen into a normal routine and had a better job. He was able to afford a better apartment, too. 

Annabeth and Percy had gotten together, finally, and Leo was working on opening his own garage repair shop. Leo even had an employee, a girl named Calypso. Rachel, Katie, Kayla, and Piper had bought a house together and were splitting payments. 

Nico and all of his friends had been making great recoveries. They all attended counseling sessions, which helped alot. They all hung out on Saturdays and their lives were honestly 100% better. 

But there was still something that Nico wanted but didn’t have: a lover. He had no loving touches or somebody to give him the support that a lover could provide. Of course he got something similar with Will, but Nico could see that Will was holding back a bit. Like it was killing him every time he held Nico. And Reyna leaned more toward verbal support. 

Nico would be lying if he said that he couldn’t see himself with Will. He saw it in his dreams the nights he didn’t have nightmares. That scared him. He knew that Will would never want him. Will was just a friend.

Nico didn’t know what would happen next, but he hoped it would be good. And it was good, until he came home to his apartment door wide open.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico was just pulling out his keys when he saw his door open. The first thing he did was call Will. Will picked up on the third ring.

“Hey Nico,” Will said, “You need something?”

“Will, I think there’s somebody in my apartment.” Nico said as quietly as he could with Will still being able to hear him.

“Okay I’ll be right over.” Will said, “Just stay outside.”

“Okay,” Nico hung up.

Nico knew it would take Will about ten minutes to get there from work if he flipped his sirens on. He had to just wait.

Nico wondered who could be in his apartment. The only people who had keys were him, Will, Reyna, and the landlord. 

Will got to Nico sooner than Nico thought he would. He came out of the elevator and pulled out his gun. He still had his earpiece in from work and his badge hung on his belt.

“Stay behind me,” Will instructed.

Nico nodded and they entered the apartment.

XXX Will POV XXX

Will went room to room seeing if anybody was there. He had checked every room but Nico’s bedroom. The door was closed. Will eyed the doorknob and looked back at Nico. Nico’s eyes were filled with fear. 

Will looked back to the door. He moved quick. He threw open the door and stepped through the threshold pointing his gun at the man standing in the corner if the room. He was looking at the pictures tacked to Nico's wall. When he turned around Will gasped. He was staring into an exact replica of Nico’s eyes.

“Son,” the man said in a cold voice, “Time to go home.”


	7. Chapter 7

Nico’s father looked more awful in person than in the pictures. HIs hair was slicked back and his skin was damn near white. The wore a gray tux which was a size too small. The look in his eyes made Will happy that he had a gun on him.

Hades spoke again, this time to Will. “Will Solace, you can put the gun down. It won't do you any good. I’ll have you dead before you can pull the trigger.”

Snipers. Will thought. Will lowered his gun and reached to his ear, acting like he was going to scratch his ear, but instead h turned on his feed. Now Percy, Jason, Frank, and Reyna could hear him through their earpieces. He heard them asking where he was and why he turned on his feed but he ignored him. Will would have to fit his location and situation into normal conversation.

“You have snipers,” Will said.

Hades hummed in agreement.

He heard his team quiet down and listen.

“Now,” Hades said, “Nico come with me and we can act like none of this ever happened.”

“No, Nico,” Will told him, “Get on the other side of the room.”

Nico’s movements were stiff, but he did what Will said.

Reyna seemed to catch on. She began giving instructions. “Percy, order swat teams to search the buildings surrounding Nico’s apartment for snipers. Jason tell the director whats happening. Frank, you and I will walk in unarmed and get to Nico’s apartment.”

Will had to suppress a smile. He loved his team.

Will began to slowly back over to the corner that held Nico. When he got there Nico gripped his bicep as if it was his lifeline. Will looked down at Nico to see him staring at his father with shock. He could see Nico’s past flash in his eyes.

Will turned to Hades, “How did you get in here?”

“Lets just say the landlord owed me a few favors.” Hades smirked. “I’ve been searching for Nico sense you shut down Gaea. Then his landlord called me and told me of his location.”

“Why?” Will asked, “Why do you want him so bad?” 

“You see, I could get millions off of him or keep him for my personal enjoyment, use him to pay people back, the possibilities are endless.”

“You sick bastard!” Will said.

Hades chuckled. “Yes I have to agree with you.”

Just then Hades phone ringed. “Excuse me,” Hades answered. Will heard screaming on the other side of the line. Hades looked at Will, “You son of a bitch!”

It happened so quick. Hades pulled a gun and fired hitting Will in the stomach. Nico screamed his name as he fell. At the same time, the door swung open revealing Reyna and Frank. The last thing Will saw was Nico’s panicked face, then he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would say I'm sorry, but I enjoyed writing this chapter so...


	8. Chapter 8

Nico sat in the chair beside Will’s hospital bed. He held Will’s normally warm, now cold from blood loss, hand in both of his. Will’s heart monitor beeped in rhythm with Will’s pulse.

Will had been out of surgery for about a hour, which meant he should wake up soon. 

Reyna sat on the other side of Will’s bed drumming her fingers on the arm. Percy, Annabeth, and Jason occupied the couch by the window and Frank was seated in the armchair by the door. There were lots more people in the waiting room. 

Nico nearly jumped out of his chair when Will squeezed his hand. The heart monitor picked up slightly which got everybody’s attention. Reyna leaned forward in her chair as Will began to stir.

XXX Will POV XXX

The first thing Will noticed was someone holding his hand. Then the beeping of a heart monitor. Will knew he was in the hospital. Then the memories came flooding back. 

Hades. Snipers. Nico. Gun shot. Black.

He opened his eyes and squinted at the light. He took his free hand and fubbed his eyes. The first person he saw was Nico. what a sight to wake up to, Will thought.

The next person Will saw was Reyna. 

Once Will’s eyes had adjusted to the light he could see that his whole team was there and Annabeth.

Will held Nico’s hand tighter. Reyna got up and said, “I’ll go get the doctor.” 

Will nodded a bit, sending a flare of pain through his head. Will grimaced.

“You okay?” Nico asked.

“Yeah,” Will said, deciding against nodding.

What happened next caught Will by total surprise. Nico leaned forward and kissed him. It was a short kiss, but it was still the best will had ever had.

Nico pulled away. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!” he said.

“yeah, “ Will said. “You got it.”

XXX Nico POV XXX

Nico was shocked that he had actually kissed Will. Maybe it was the fact that Will had almost died, or the fact that Nico was just so happy Will had made it, whatever the reason, Nico was glad he had a excuse to use if Will hadn't liked Nico that way.

But by the way Will’s heart monitor picked up and the fact that Will kissed him back, Nico didn’t think he had a lot to worry about.

The only thing he regretted was doing in front of all of Will’s friends because after he sat back in his seat Percy said, “Seriously? It took a bullet to get yall together?”

The two boy’s blushed furiously.

That’s when Reyna came in with the doctor. “What did i miss?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Nico said at the same time Percy said, “They kissed.”

Reyna’s eyebrows shot up, but she said nothing and sat back down.

The doctor began taking Will’s vitals and Nico could tell that Will was really annoyed with that part. The doctor left with a warning that visiting hour was almost over and that they would have to leave soon.

Nico had taken Reyna up on the offer to stay with her since his apartment was closed off for investigation.

Nico left Will with another peck in the lips and a see you later.

 

Nico stayed up most of the night to keep the nightmares away. Now that he had seen his father again they would get bad again. Reyna stayed up with Nico part of the time but eventually had to go to bed because she had work the next day. 

Nico played solitare for an hour or two before turning the tv on. He watched Full House until Reyna’s alarm went off.

After getting ready, Reyna drove Nico to the hospital.

XXX Will POV XXX

Nico came into Will’s room around eight o’clock that morning. Will automatically perked up, but so did his heart monitor. Gods Will hated that thing.

Nico smiled a bit as he sat down in the chair by Will’s bed.

Will was the first to speak. “We should probably talk about that kiss.”

Nico blushed but nodded, “I get it if you don’t feel that way but-”

“Nico,” Will cut him off. “I like you. I like you alot.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Will answered. “And I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me.”

Will’s heart fluttered at the smile Nico gave. “I would love to go out with you,” Nico said.

“Great,” Will said, “We’ll get that set up when I’m out of this really uncomfortable bed.”


	9. Chapter 9

Three years later. 

Nico looked down at the eyes of his baby girl. He eyes big, round and the most beautiful brown. Charity, that was her name. Charity had a small bit of hair on her head, to little to know the color yet. Her nose was small and rounded, her lips thin and pink. She was beautiful, Her small head gripped Will’s pinkey. Will had his free hand around Nico’s waist. 

Will and Nico’s surrogate lay in the hospital bed, sleeping. 

Nico looked back on the last five years of his life. He had come so far: from a sex slave to a married man holding his newborn daughter.

At the beginning it had been hard. At the time Nico thought that he would never recover, but his friends pushed him. His older friends walked the same walk he had. They had gotten through it together though. 

Nico’s newer friends had helped him get back into the world. To learn how to move on, to love.

Nico though he would never get over the pains of his past, but he did. Nico had nothing to fear now. His father was locked away along with all of the other people that had used him. He was safe from them. 

He saw now that his past was going to help him ne a good father as well. Nico remembered when his mother was alive, how loving and kind she was. He also had motivation to be a good father. He would never be the kind of father Hades had been. He would watch Charity grow and keep her from danger. He would raise her the way his mother had tried to raise him.

Nico may have been through hell, but it had helped him become the person he is now. He may not have seen it back then, but everything that happened to him happened to him for good reason. It all made him stronger. More careful. More passionate. More understanding. More hopeful. 

He was a better man because of it. 

Now, looking at his precious daughter, Nico was happy. Joyful. He had a life worth living now, and nothing could ruin that.


End file.
